Had our first physical examination "practice" session for NCPP last week. As usual, there was no demonstration before we begin. Instead, we were expected to learn everything from YouTube videos, which had minimal explanations on the findings to look out for. I attempted the respiratory and abdominal physical examination stations because no one else in my practice group wanted to try. Everyone were equally unprepared. Having watched the videos a few times without actual practice, there were quite a bit of inaccuracies in my technique and approach. I also cannot remember all the steps, so examination was not very thorough. In short, it was a complete failure.
I knew I needed more practice, and poor hubby ended up being my "dummy". But the problem with finding someone with a big habitus is that physical examination is abit more difficult. For example, one won't be able to feel the apex beat. I wasn't aware of that and thought that I wasn't doing it right. Thankfully with the little bit of practice that I managed to get with hubby, I managed to survive this week's physical examination sessions. My grades jumped from a "F" to a "D". That is a huge improvement for me. But looking at how smooth the APNs were, I know that I still have a long way to go....
My NCPP groupmates
